Bears receiver Brandon Marshall and his wife Michi Marshall talk to Tilden High School students during a news conference about Project 375, their new mental awareness program.

Bears receiver Brandon Marshall and his wife Michi Marshall talk to Tilden High School students during a news conference about Project 375, their new mental awareness program. (Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune)

One of the questions posed to Bears general manager Phil Emery after the trade for Brandon Marshall was why the team didn't wait to complete a fact-finding mission into the nightclub incident that occurred two days before the deal was announced.

Marshall has been accused of punching a 24-year-old woman in the face, although no charges have been filed. The wide receiver's attorney maintains Marshall and his wife were the victims.

Just as they were learning about this episode, the Bears traded two third-round draft picks to the Dolphins for Marshall -- the third-rounder acquired last summer from the Panthers in the Greg Olsen deal -- and the club's 2013 third-round selection.

Turns out, the Dolphins were considering dumping Marshall. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, owner Stephen Ross said the club was close to releasing the 28-year-old Pro Bowl performer after efforts to trade him drew no response.

Ross called Jason Lawrence, a Dolphins' season-ticket holder for more than 20 years, and explained the Marshall situation and many other current events surrounding the franchise, according to Izzy Gould of the Sun-Sentinel.

"(Ross) said they had been shopping (Marshall) for a couple weeks," Lawrence told the Sun-Sentinel. "Nobody would return their phone calls about getting him. If Chicago didn't take (Marshall) they would have ended up cutting him very shortly after that, and got nothing."

League sources confirmed at the time of the trade the Dolphins indeed had been working behind the scenes for several weeks to move Marshall. A front-office source for another club in need of help at wide receiver told the Tribune the Dolphins reached out to his organization.

Emery explained the Bears acted when they did because of the constantly changing landscape when free agency opened. With the salary cap and other considerations, the Bears made the trade with confidence that Marshall's latest off-field incident would prove to be nothing. The way Ross describes it, the Bears could have had Marshall on the open market if they had waited, thus keeping two third-round draft picks.

Of course, Marshall could have drawn attention from other clubs if he was a free agent who would come at a reasonable cost.

If the Dolphins were willing to cut Marshall and receive nothing in return, they likely didn't put as much stock in his powerful description of the steps he is taking to improve himself as a person after a sordid history of off-field incidents. Marshall is in a position to prove the Dolphins wrong and make the Bears look good either way.